The Dartmouth Cultural Center was closed to the public on Monday, July 8, but all afternoon artists filed in and out of the building delivering artwork for the Center’s upcoming “What’s your Jam” Member-Guest Invitational show. 

Approximately 20 artists, with 11 hailing from Dartmouth, will display their paintings, photographs, mixed media and drawings on the walls of the Dartmouth Cultural Center from Friday, July 12 to Saturday, Aug. 3. 

One goal of this show, said Dartmouth Cultural Center Gallery Director Jill Law, is to drum up membership and engagement with the center. Law said that membership has “plateaued” over the last year. 

The show’s normal $35 entrance fee was waived for those who already pay a yearly $35 membership fee, she said. 

Along with increasing membership and involvement with the Center, this show also puts Dartmouth’s artistic talent – and natural beauty – on display. 

“Where we live is a beautiful place and I hope [visitors] can see how beautiful it really is,” said Dartmouth photographer Michael T. Morris. “We live in a place where it truly is one of a kind.”

Morris unwrapped two photos he took of a Chris-Craft floating in Padanaram Harbor. “I saw this beautiful Chris-Craft, went down there and started clicking away,” he said.

Morris isn’t the only artist who took inspiration from the sights of Dartmouth. 

South Dartmouth and Scituate-based artist Kathleen Mullins Mogayzel registered a mixed-media print and a plein-air painting of Dartmouth. 

Her work runs the gamut from painting, to printmaking, to calligraphy and photography. 

“Taste and see, that’s my motto,” she said, referring to her eclectic styles.

According to Mullins Mogayzel, her plein-air work starts in the field, comes into the studio and is “noodled to death over the winter.” 

She added that the show’s lack of fees is a welcome change, considering how much she has paid to enter other exhibitions. 

“I think this show being of no fee to members is a nice benny – it’s a nice treat,” she said. 

Also delivering their work on Monday were Fairhaven artists Michael Matheron and Susan Meadows who both submitted photography to the exhibit. 

While the couple are both photographers and often shoot similar scenes, their “view” is different, said Meadows. 

“We definitely spark each other,” said Meadows.

According to Matheron, guests at this show will see other people’s viewpoints through the art on display. “The more people that come to [shows like these], the better,” he said. 

“Everybody needs more art in their lives, and this is a great place to get some,” added Meadows. 

For more information about this show, visit www.dartmouthculturalcenterinc.org.